


Can't Do it For Her

by Lenny9987



Series: Lenny's Imagine Claire and Jamie Prompts [9]
Category: Outlander (TV)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 01:28:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6635428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenny9987/pseuds/Lenny9987
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Hiya! I was wondering if there could be any Murtagh POV from first book/season? Related to either Jamie’s, Claire’s or both’s actions or circumstances? Thanks!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Do it For Her

Claire slipped away to bed shortly after the toast and so was able to avoid Murtagh until the following morning after Jamie had already left for Jared’s warehouse to conduct an inventory before the chaos of the next shipment’s arrival. Electing to indulge in breakfast in bed, she had managed to put off the confrontation until they were in the carriage on their way to _L’Hôpital des Anges_.

“Ye should ha’ told the lad last night,” Murtagh said simply.

“I couldn’t take that away from him,” Claire insisted with a sigh. “He needed it too badly.”

“I ken I’m the one that told ye no to tell him before, but if he _has_ to know, better sooner than later,” Murtagh ignored her excuse though his tone was softer. It had been good to see the lad so excited about something again, not to mention the tenderness he’d shown Claire—the cares the lad bore had been sharpening and hardening his edges, wearing away the softness Claire needed in her condition. “He’ll no thank ye if ye let the Duke catch him off guard wi’ that bit o’ information.”

“I know. It’s just… _how_? How am I supposed to tell him that his nightmares…” but she broke off, shaking her head and blinking back tears. “He _can’t_ kill Randall.”

“No from here, no,” Murtagh said with narrowed eyes; more secrets—too many secrets. If they were to have a hope of succeeding in stopping the blundering prince it would take all their efforts pulling together, but with so many secrets floating about, he couldn’t help but feel they might as well be blind horses pulling a cart in different directions. “The progress we’ve made can work in yer favor,” he continued, trying a different tack. “He’ll be upset but wi’ so much here to serve as distraction… I’ll be wi’ ye when ye tell him lass—if tha’s what ye’d prefer.” If the news did send Jamie into some sort of rage, it might be best—not that Murtagh though Jamie capable of lashing out at Claire in such a way…

“Thank you, Murtagh,” Claire said quietly to his proposal. “I’ll consider it but… I think perhaps it would be best if I told Jamie privately. He’d hate for anyone to see him… like that.”

“Aye,” Murtagh assented, dropping the matter. The Fraser stubbornness mixed with the MacKenzie pride; he kent well enough how that could be.

He helped Claire down from the carriage at the steps of l’hôpital. The stench of sickness and filth made the hairs in his nose curl but it seemed to give Claire strength.

He suspected that was part of why she couldn’t bring herself to tell Jamie about Black Jack Randall—it wasn’t in her nature to _inflict_  pain but rather to cure it. His mind flew back to the woodland trail where he came upon Claire and Jenny with the British messenger. It was clear from the lass’ face that she didn’t need Jenny lecturing her about how they couldn’t let the man live—she understood the fact of the matter—but she wasn’t quite ready to cross the line between knowing that truth and acting on it, ending the man’s life with her healer’s hands. So he’d done it for her.

He couldn’t do this for her, though—however sorely he was tempted. There was clearly more to it all than what he’d been able to put together from Jamie’s injuries and the state he and the others had found him in. Jamie’s turn at the abbey had only come after some sort of interference on Claire’s part—he’d shared with her what he couldn’t share with anyone else—and so it must be from Claire that the news of Randall’s continued existence reached him.

But the lass would get there. She might shy from inflicting pain but when the pain must be got through in order for healing to occur, she would rise to the occasion as she had before. The focus with which she had tended the lad’s hand… To this day he didn’t think she realized how much of that process he’d witnessed. She paid no notice to anyone or anything that wasn’t directly related to un-mangling the mess of Jamie’s hand.

Claire vanished into the shadows at the top of the stairs and Murtagh turned back to the carriage to give the driver his instructions for the day. Murtagh had to meet Fergus to replace the letters he and Jamie had stayed up late copying the previous evening before they could be missed and hopefully later that day or the next Fergus would acquire a response from the daft prince to add to their collection of his intercepted correspondence.


End file.
